Seal Team 6, the U.S. special-operations force that took out Osama bin Laden, is one of the most highly trained units in the world. For years, governments have prepared small, mobile forces that specialize in everything from ending a hostage situation to stealthily eliminating enemy combatants. TIME takes a look at some of the world's most elite military teams, now and in history

The Jaguar Warriors

By Ishaan TharoorFriday, May 06, 2011

In Aztec culture, the Jaguar Warriors were society's knights. Sure, they didn't have horses or shiny suits of armor, but they did often wear the sable skin of the sleek and beguiling predator, their heads poking out of jaguars' gaping maws. Instead of swords and lances, these fighters often used axes or clubs studded with shards of black obsidian (jagged volcanic rock). The historical record seems to indicate that Jaguar Warriors commanded a high place in the Aztecs' political hierarchy and fought ferociously against the invading Spanish conquistadores. But their spiky clubs were no match for the firepower of the Spanish.